In another heavyweight clash in Group E, Roma entertain Bayern Munich in what promises to be a Champions League match for the ages.
Bayern Munich, despite being far from impressive in the Champions League this season, have done enough to pick up two victories out of two, and in Roma at the Stadio Olimpico they will perhaps face their stiffest test yet.
Having picked up narrow 1-0 victories in both their previous Champions League matches, against Manchester City and CSKA Moscow, Bayern Munich will target another three points against a side which can tear any defence apart on their day.
Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola, who was a Roma player for a brief while, knows if his side win both the back-to-back matches against Roma, first away and then home, then his side will have pretty much sealed their place in the knockout stages.
"This game will be a very important challenge," said Guardiola. "If a team wins these two matches, they will qualify, for sure. At the moment we are in a perfect position with six points from two games, but I have always said that the classification in this group will be decided on the last day.
"When I see players like Daniele De Rossi, Francesco Totti, Miralem Pjanic, Gervinho, Manuel Iturbe and their fast defenders, I say that they have everything. I told my players that if we do not play a great match we will not win."
Roma smashed CSKA Moscow in their opening Champions League encounter, before picking up a 1-1 draw at Manchester City courtesy a wonderful goal from their talisman Francesco Totti. The Roma legend shows no signs of stopping, and will undoubtedly be a danger man for Bayern Munich.
Rudi Garcia will also rely on the pace of his wide players to hit Bayern on the counter-attack, with the Germans, as is a Guardiola team's wont, most likely to have the bulk of the possession.
"We are still the outsiders of the group, but we have played two good matches and we want to continue, because we know that we have our chances," Roma manager Rudi Garcia said on Monday despite picking up three points more than Manchester City from the first two Group E games.
"Bayern haven't conceded a goal for a couple of months. We do not fear them, we have no fear of anybody, to be honest. We know that tomorrow we will play against a great team with great players, but we have great players too and we're playing in our stadium. In a match like this, we will not be spectators. And I have real belief that we can get a positive result.
"We want to get to the round of 16 and, if we get three points tomorrow, we'll be confident we can do that."
Where to Watch Live
The Champions League Group E match is scheduled for a 12.15 am IST (7.45 pm IST, 2.45 pm ET) start with live coverage on Ten Action in India.
The match can also be watched via live streaming online in India on Ten Sports Live. Viewers in the UK can watch the match on Sky Sports 1 or live stream all the action on Sky Go or Sky Sports Online.
US viewers can watch the game live on Fox Soccer or online on FoxSoccer2Go, while Italy viewers can live stream the match via Sky Go Italy. Audience in Canada can watch the game via live streaming on Watch Sportsnet.
Catch the game in the Middle East and North Africa on Bein Sports and Bein Sports Connect, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can watch the match on SuperSport or Supersport online.
Team news: Roma: Garcia will be without Leandro Castan, Kevin Strootman and Seydou Keita, a former Barcelona player who worked under Guardiola, through injury.
Bayern Munich: Guardiola will have to do without the services of Holger Badstuber, Thiago Alcantara, Javi Martinez, Pepe Reina and Bastian Schweinsteiger. However, winger Franck Ribery should feature after returning to action on the weekend against Werder Bremen.
Expected lineups: Roma: De Sanctis; Maicon, Yanga-Mbiwa, Manolas, Cole; Pjanic, De Rossi, Nainggolan; Iturbe, Totti, Gervinho.
Bayern Munich: Neuer; Rafinha, Boateng, Dante, Alaba; Lahm, Alonso; Robben, Muller, Gotze; Lewandowski.
